In a mere two years, Big Krit has gone from virtual unknown to sought after veteran. When the Mississippi native burst on the scene in 2010 with his impressive mixtape K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, he did so without a national following and without really any known commodities backing him. Since then Krit has become an artist that’s known for head knocking soulful beats coupled with lyrics and story telling from the heart. Fans have been clamoring for Krits “official” debut for damn near two years and with Live From The Underground, Krit looks to finally give the fans what they’ve been asking for.

Live From The Underground was originally set to be released in September 2011, but was pushed back due to all to common “sample clearing difficulties”. After pushing back the album due to sample delays, K.R.I.T. essentially said “fuck it”, and released the mix tape 4evaNaDay. Almost a year later, we’ve finally seen the album that was promised. And while some of the singles including “I Got This” and “Money on The Floor”(feat. 8 Ball & MJG and 2Chainz) aren’t new, the rest of Live From The Underground bring a new chapter to the autobiography of the King Remembered In Time.

The guest list on Live From The Underground covers about half of the album and features some pretty dope artists, including 8 Ball & MJG, Bun B, Devin the Dude and of course Big Sant, to name a few. The fact that Krit was able to secure legendary blues guitarist B.B. King on the “Praying Man” is incredible, and perhaps shows the reach that the Mississippi emcee’s music has. The elements involved in the track, the funky guitar, the soulful chorus help to make this the defacto standout track on the album. The instrumental alone would be dope, but Krit ups the ante with incredible story telling and ties everything together.

Interestingly enough, even though Krit’s following has grown and Live From The Underground was released on a major, Krit still looks at himself as “underground”, as he tells us on the dope title track “Live from the Underground”. And though he sees it this way, the sound of Live From The Underground is seems more for the masses than just for the backpackers. And while this track is dope, the album ending “Live from the Underground (Reprise)” absolutely crushes it with it’s soulful melody and hypnotizing harmonica.

The endearing quality of Krit’s previous releases has always been in his ability to share himself with the listeners and he does so with the songs, addressing some of his demons with “Don’t Let Down” and “Hyrdoplaning”. Tracks such as “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, “If I Fall” and “Porchlight” tell the story of a man looking back at the lessons from a father and doing his best to survive and juggle a relationship with his chosen career. Those tracks coupled with “Money on The Floor” and “What U Mean”, “Yeah Dats Me” and “I Got This”, show the money chasing, rain making side of Big Krit. All together, it shows a flawed, but complete man. Krit’s ability to show these parts of his personality make Live From The Underground a balanced album that isn’t preachy and at the same time isn’t completely focused on telling the listener how much of a pimp or how rich Krit is.

Live From The Underground didn’t wow me upon first listen. In fact, I hated it, as the album is a bit of a departure from Krit’s previous releases and the backpacker in me wouldn’t accept it. Upon further listen though, it may be his strongest release to date. Krit is a talented producer, but didn’t have to rely just on woofer busting instrumentals and drum kits with this release as lyrically, he goes in. And While Krit Wuz Here and Return Of 4eva featured more sample based production and a grittier sound, Live From The Underground is more polished. For those that heard 4evaNaDay and noticed the difference in sound, the transition began there and ends in Live From The Underground.

A listener can move through Big Krit’s releases album by album and see his growth as an artist. From Krit Wuz Here to Live From The Underground, Big Krit shows that he’s not just resting on his laurels, but looking to grow and improve himself with each and every release.

@Mitch 3K: I liked this album a lot, but even if I didn’t I still would have bought it BECAUSE of all the great FREE music he has given us over the last 2 years! We all knew he couldn’t make an album exactly like his mixtapes because of the samples clearances. I feel he deserved to get my 10$ based on the two free albums, Live from the underground is a bonus, a pretty good bonus at that!